The remains of a man pulled from the rubble following Saturday’s Hard Rock Hotel collapse in New Orleans have been formally identified.
The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office released a statement Monday naming the victim as hotel foreman Anthony Magrette, 49.
Magrette’s body was positively identified by his wife, Nova Espinoza, shortly after it discovered beneath the rubble late Sunday night.
One other person is still missing in the wake of the tragic accident.
Another 30 people were injured when part of the hotel – which is currently under construction – suddenly came toppling down in the city’s French Quarter on Saturday morning.
The body of Anthony Magrette, 49, has been formally identified after it was pulled from the rubble at the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel collapse site on Sunday evening
Magrette served as a stucco foreman at the under-construction Hard Rock Hotel, and was working there when it collapsed on Saturday morning
Magrette served as a stucco foreman at the hotel where he was putting in overtime Saturday night even though he wasn’t scheduled to work, according to WVUE-DT.
Espinoza had been keeping a round-the-clock vigil at the disaster site since Saturday night.
‘He’s going to be greatly missed. We’re completely devastated by all of this,’ she told 4WWL on Monday.
‘We still need prayers for the rest of the family because we’re all taking this very hard.’
She told the news network that her husband’s body was found on the hotel’s seventh floor.
Magrette is pictured with his wife Nova Espinoza, who positively identified his body on Sunday night
Video shows the moment that the top floors of the Hard Rock Cafe came crashing down onto Basin Street at around 9am in New Orleans that left one dead
The hotel resides in the city’s downtown central hub where traffic and city transit was being diverted away from throughout the day on Sunday.
A statement from the project contractor said its representatives would work ‘throughout the night’ with emergency officials on a plan to stabilize the building.
‘I heard a huge noise and thought it was a plane crashing,’ said Sue Hurley, a 68-year-old guest at a hostel across the street that shuddered with the force of the collapse. Hurley said she was reminded of news accounts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
This aerial photo shows the Hard Rock Hotel, which was under construction, after a fatal partial collapse in New Orleans
The building mostly fell on Basin Street, located just outside of the French Quarter
Dramatic bystander video of upper floors falling on top of each other before one side of the building crashed to the street was aired on WWL-TV.
Another video on social media showed what looked like a metal structure – part of the building or a piece of construction equipment – tumbling to the ground and people running from the scene as clouds of dust billowed up, obscuring the view like a thick fog.
‘I’m not sure what happened, but they told us to get out of here,’ said Michael Arbeiter, 30, from Munich, Germany, a hostel guest who said he was just getting out of the shower when his room shook. ‘Thank God it was not another 9/11.’
Officials said 18 people were taken to the hospital and several others went to the hospital on their own. They said none of their injuries was believed to be life threatening.
Urban search and rescue teams entered a section of the building Saturday in hopes of finding two missing people alive, said Fire Chief Tim McConnell. Authorities later said one of the missing was dead.
It is not exactly known how the building collapsed. At least 20 people were injured and two are confirmed dead
The development was expected to be open in the spring. Debris can be seen falling off the building
Meanwhile, authorities were keeping a wary eye on the unstable crane looming over the building.
‘There is a very strong possibility of further collapse of this crane right now,’ McConnell said.
Citadel Builders LLC, the contractor on the project, said more than 100 workers were on site at the time of the collapse. An email from spokesman Brian Trascher said company officials were working with emergency workers on a plan to stabilize the building.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards visited the site and took part in news briefings soon after the collapse. The Democrat was defending his seat in a primary election Saturday that forced him into a runoff next month.
The new Hard Rock Hotel was under construction at the corner of Rampart Street and Canal Street, a broad boulevard just outside the Quarter that is lined with restaurants hotels and retailers.
Canal, which carries six lanes of traffic divided by a wide median where streetcars roll, separates the Quarter from the city’s main business district.
Construction workers were said to have had to climb down ladders in order to get to safety
Three people are said to be missing from the scene
As search and rescue efforts unfolded, police stood sentry around a group of people on the Canal Street median believed to be loved ones of the missing. A woman nearby said she was trying to find out the status of her brother, a worker at the site. She declined to give her name, wiping tears from her eyes as she walked away.
Removal of the damaged crane and cleanup of massive piles of debris promised to be an enormous undertaking in the days ahead, expected to tie up traffic and commerce. Among area buildings evacuated was the Saenger Theatre, where traveling companies perform Broadway Shows regularly.
Hard Rock International issued a statement expressing sympathy for victims and their families. The statement said the company had a licensing agreement with the building’s owner, Kailas Companies, and Hard Rock had no involvement in the construction. It identified the contractor on the project as Citadel Builders LLC.
Citadel issued a statement expressing its condolences for the death and injuries but did not comment on a possible cause of the collapse.
A public relations firm issued a statement on behalf of 1031 Canal, a corporate entity identified as the developer of the project that lists the Kailas Companies’ Chandra Kailas as a principal. The statement said the developer would work with authorities and the contractor to determine what caused the collapse.
A rescued construction worker makes his way down a ladder
Construction workers film the wreckage left behind after the building collapsed
Construction workers are helped by emergency personnel
Damage is seen after a portion of a Hard Rock Hotel under construction collapsed